Protests in Manipur continue
November 20, 2005: The situation in Manipur after the state team were eliminated from the 60th Santosh Trophy on Thursday has remained tense with general protest in the state growing. A major public rally will be organised in the state capital Imphal tomorrow, which is being organised by 15 civil and students organisations of the state. The date has been choosen as it is the day of the Santosh Trophy final.
The All-Manipur FA meanwhile has decided to pull it's state teams out of the AIFF-organised U14 and U19 Nationals, and it would even go to the extend to leave the AIFF, if it was needed. The state thinks that Goa was favoured by the referee after in a similar situation in 2002 Manipur was favoured as it hosted the tournament then.

No matches today, schedule redrawn
November 14, 2005: All matches of the 60th Santosh Trophy 2005 scheduled for today have been postponed due to very heavy rains in the Kochi area. Due to the heavy rains the organisers were forced to reschedule all remaining matches of the tournament. Today's matches, which where postponed would be held tomorrow, but not all at the Nehru Stadium but two also at the FACT grounds at nearby Udyogamandal, which was deemed matchfit by the organisers and the team managers. Meanwhile the matches scheduled for tomorrow and day after have been pushed back by a day. The semifinals would now both be held on November 19 with the final going to be played on November 21, a day later than originally planned.

Preliminary
phase over
November 10, 2005: The 60th Santosh Trophy preliminary phase
finished yesterday in Thiruvananthapuram and Calicut with
the eight group winners moving into the quarterfinal league.
There was only one big upset with Assam throwing out Railways,
while Tamil Nadu needed a late equaliser against Jharkhand
to move on and Bengal had to stop the spirited and attacking
men from Mizoram. Otherwise the expected group heavy weights
moved on. The most impressive of the lot where Goa, who scored
32 goals in three games and conceeding none.
In the quarterfinal league hosts and defending champions Kerala,
runners-up Punjab plus Services and Manipur are waiting as
the seeded sides in the four groups. The tournament now also
moves to Kochi, where the Nehru Stadium would host the matches
but the planned colourful opening function has been called
off due to the death of former President KR Narayanan yesterday.
The Kerala FA President KMI Mather has said that the preparations
for the tournament have been completed and that the KFA has
tied-up with the United India Insurance on insurance matters,
be it stadium, players, officials or spectators.
The hosts Kerala are the favourites to retain the Santosh
Trophy title, but they will surely face tought competition.
Goa has been impressive so far, while Bengal seem to have
found their touch at the right time plus teams like Manipur,
Punjab, Maharashtra and Karnataka will also fancy their chances,
and then there are teams like Services, Assam, Delhi and Uttar
Pradesh who can cause the one or the other surprise.

Will Baichung play or not?
November 8, 2005: Will Baichung Bhutia play for West Bengal in the ongoing 60th Santosh Trophy?
Baichung's "International Transfer Clearance" was received today in Calcutta by the IFA, but a new problem has now cropped-up. As per the rules and regulations of the Santosh Trophy all players of a team have to be registered before their teams first match, but with Baichung not being a registered player in India until today, he could not be registered earlier at the Santosh Trophy.
But the IFA is working on the case. The IFA secretary Subrata Datta has sought special permission from the AIFF to allow Baichung to play for the state. The AIFF is looking into the matter.

Bengal still waiting for Bhutia's ITC
November 6, 2005: Bengal started their campaign yesterday only with a two-all draw against Nagaland and that without their captain Baichung Bhutia and midfielder Mehtab Hussain. While Mehtab is busy with an office asignment, Baichung is awaiting his International Transfer Clearance from Malaysia. And that is taking longer than Baichung and Bengal coach Aloke Mukherjee would have hoped. It looks unlikely that Baichung can join the Bengal team before the quarterfinal league starts on November 11, if Bengal qualify, with his registration having also to go through.

Gujarat keeper banned
November 6, 2005: Gujarat goalkeeper George Mathew has been suspended for the duration of the Santosh Trophy by the tournament disciplinary committee. This decision was taken after Mathew had knocked down the referee C Krishnan (Kerala) in yesterday's match between Gujarat and Tamil Nadu.

Air
India Express named title sponsor
November 4, 2005: Air India Express, the low cost wing of
the national carrier, will be the title sponsor of the 60th
Santosh Trophy, which kicked-off today with the Cluster round
in Thiruvananthapuram and Calicut. The tournament will now
be known as "Air India Express Santosh Trophy" after
Air India Express signed a contract with TV rights holders
Zee Sports and their marketing partners Nimbus Sports.
This was announced at a press conference in Kochi where Kerala
FA president KMI Mather, Zee Sports business head Himanshu
Mody and Air India deputy commercial director Darius Chibber
were present.
Zee Sports also announced today that it would beam 16 matches
of the Santosh Trophy live from the Quarterfinal League stage
in Kochi. The coverage would be as extensive as they were
from the Federation Cup last month.

Santosh Trophy starts tomorrow
November 3, 2005: The 60th Santosh Trophy will kickoff tomorrow at two venues, in two cities - Thiruvananthapuram and Calicut - in the state of Kerala where 27 States and the Railways face each other in eight groups of the preliminary Cluster round.
The Chandrasekharan Nair Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram will host the matches of Clusters II, III, V and VIII. A number of problems were sorted out before the start of the tournament like availability of the stadium for the six days to host a total of 18 matches plus power supply from the KSEB to ensure that the six floodlit matches can be hosted. The Kerala Finance Minister, Vakkom Purushothaman, will inaugurate the tournament in the state capital with Delhi taking on Himachal Pradesh. Three matches will be held a day at 7.00, 14.00 and 16.00 IST.
The Municipal Corporation Stadium in Calicut will host the matches of Clusters I, IV, VI and VII. The Mayor of Calicut M Bhaskaran will inaugurate the Cluster league in his city with Madhya Pradesh taking on Uttaranchal in the opening match. In Calicut the three matches a day will be played at 8.00, 14.00 and 16.00 IST. Ticket prices in Calicut have been reduced from the regular Rs 25 to Rs 10 to enable as many people as possible to watch the matches.
In Thiruvananthapuram the focus will be on the Bengal team which is being led by Baichung Bhutia. With Bhutia missing the Federation Cup and having had a bad year so far on Indian soil for his own high standards, he will want to prove a point that he still is one of the best players in India. In Calicut Goa will be the main attraction with a number of top players in their squad.
The eight winners of the Cluster League will make it to the Quarterfinal League, where the semifinalists of last years Santosh Trophy join the tournament. Here the tournament shifts to Kochi, which will also host the semifinals and the big final showdown.

SBI
to sponsor Bengal team
October 31, 2005: The Bengal state team will be sponsored
by the State Bank of India for the 60th Santosh Trophy to
be held in Kerala from later this week. The sponsorship is
part of the bicentennial celebrations of the State Bank of
India, which is the first time for Bengal state football.
Meanwhile the Bengal team will leave for Kerala tomorrow by
train from Howrah station.

Bhutia
to lead Bengal team
October 30, 2005: Baichung Bhutia has been named captain of
the West Bengal Santosh Trophy team. Baichung is one of four
non-Bengali natives to make the side. The others are Goans
Covan Lawrence and Noel Anthony Wilson plus seasoned Raman
Vijayan, who hails from Tamil Nadu. There are two outstation
players in the team - keeper Kalyan Chaubey from JCT Mills
and midfielder Mahindra United midfielder Subhas Chakraborty.
Talking to UNI, coach Aloke Mukherjee said, "I will not
guarantee you that we will become champion. But this side
has the talent to become champion. They are also a motivated
lot." Asked if he was happy with the side given to him,
he said, "I could not have asked for a better side. This
side has rocksolid defence and firepower upfront," he
stated.
On whether playing five matches in 10 days would be a tough
for the team, he said, "It will, but if the schedule
demands it, we would have to go by it. Besides, we have 20
very good players and there would always be a scope to give
rest to some players from time to time." He then said
the players belonging to big clubs also showed their keenness
to play in the tourney and had practised as advised and without
showing any hint of any problem.Squad:
Goalkeepers: Subrata Pal (Mohun Bagan AC), Rajat Ghosh Dastidar
(East Bengal Club), Kalyan Chaubey (JCT Mills)
Defenders: Covan Lawrence (East Bengal Club), Madhab Das (Mohammedan
Sporting Club), Amulya Mondal (EverReady SA), Manas Das (Mohun
Bagan AC), Rajib Ahmed (Mohun Bagan AC), Soumik Dey (East
Bengal Club)
Midfielders: Mehtab Hussein (Mohun Bagan AC), Noel Anthony
Wilson (Mohun Bagan AC), Chandan Das (East Bengal Club, vice-Captain),
Sasthi Duley (East Bengal Club), Subhas Chakraborty (Mahindra
United), Jayanta Sen (East Bengal Club), Shankha Roy Choudhury
(Mohun Bagan AC)
Forwards: Baichung Bhutia (East Bengal Club, Captain), Syed
Rahim Nabi (East Bengal Club), Raman Vijayan (Mohammedan Sporting
Club), Dipendu Biswas (Mohun Bagan AC)
Coach: Aloke Mukherjee

Maharashtra
coach talks to IndianFootball.Com
October 29, 2005: The Chief Coach of the Maharashtra Santosh
Trophy team, Mr. Irenio Vaz, had a few words with IndianFootball.com
Editor Sujay Sharma before the departure of the team to Kerala,
following their selection-cum-preparation camp at the Cooperage.
On his expectations of the Maharashtra team, Mr. Vaz said,
"Our goal is to first qualify for the Quarter-finals.
Then we will take it from there step-by-step. I'm hopeful
that the players will make a good first impression at the
tournament from the first match itself, as the first impressions
are the best."
On being queried about the state of preparation of the team,
Mr. Vaz did highlight that the preparation time had been very
short - in part because the MDFA Elite Division finished very
late. Shifting focus to the positive aspects of the team,
Mr. Vaz stressed, "I must point out that we are taking
a very young team. Maybe they are lacking in experience a
bit, but they are an exuberant and excited bunch, who are
looking forward to the tournament." He added that the
Mahindra United and Air-India players would form the nucleus
of the team. Steven Dias for example would definitely be a
key player. He's had an excellent Federation Cup, and Team
Maharashtra will be hoping for him to continue his rich vein
of form with them.
The favourites according to Mr. Vaz: "The usual suspects
- Bengal, Kerala. Kerala specially as they will have home
support." While concluding, he did raise an insightful
point, "The last time the Santosh Trophy was held in
Kerala, in 2000, Maharashtra had gone there in similar circumstances.
And on that occasion we had won it."

Chetri
to miss Santosh Trophy
October 28, 2005: Delhi have lost their star player Sunil
Chetri for the 60th Santosh Trophy due to a technical mistake.
Chetri, who plays for Punjabi side JCT Mills, was with the
Delhi squad for a few days before being recalled by his club,
who stated that Chetri was being recalled as the Delhi Soccer
Association's application to release Chetri came in too late.
JCT cited the example of keeper Kalyan Chaubey, who was wanted
by the IFA for the Bengal team, and got his release; while
Manipur made a late appeal to release Renedy Singh for their
state team, but it was turned down. For Delhi it is a big
blow and clearly weakens the team.

Bhutia
visits Bengal camp
October 24, 2005: Baichung Bhutia was a surprise visitor to
the Bengal Santosh Trophy probables camp at the SAI Eastern
Centre today. He asked coach Aloke Mukherjee if he could train
with the others and the coach allowed him to take part though
it isn't known if he can play for Bengal. The IFA has written
their Sikkimese counterparts for a no objection certificate
that Baichung plays for Bengal in the national tournament,
but no answer has been received so far.

Sikkim
or Bengal?
October 22, 2005: For whom will Baichung Bhutia play in the
upcoming 60th Santosh Trophy. Baichung's home state of Sikkim
have requested the services of their best known footballer,
but also Baichung's adopted home state of Bengal has shown
interest to include the striker in their squad. A final decision
has not been taken yet.

Vijayan
back for Kerala
October 19, 2005: Kerala, which is hosting the 60th Santosh
Tropyh this year, has decided to call on five state players,
who play their football in other states. The five include
seasoned IM Vijayan, who has had a good season so far and
is a big big star in his home state, so his return makes complete
sense. Vijayan and defender Muttath Suresh have been called
from Calcutta's East Bengal Club, as Mahindra United duo goalkeeper
TG Purushothaman and midfielder Krishnan Nair Ajayan and Vinu
Jose who plays for Sporting Clube de Goa.
Meanwhile four players have been released from the ongoing
probables camp. The players are goalkeeper Shinu Joseph, midfielders
TK Prasoon and PP Vijeesh besides forward EK Arun.

Manipur
call-up 10 state players
October 19, 2005: The technical committee of the All-Manipur
FA has decided to call in 10 state players who play outside
the state. More might be called in later on as in the last
few editions of the Santosh Trophy Manipur has played mostly
with outstation players.
The 10 players are Mohun Bagan quartet Manitombi Singh, Tomba
Singh, Dharamjit and Sushil Kumar Singh; Mahindra United duo
Surkumar Singh and James Singh; Sporting Clube de Goa duo
N Samananda Singh and Rajesh N Meetei, Air-India's Narender
Meetei and Bungo Singh. If Bungo can join the camp is in doubt
due to an injury.

Delhi
camp from Oct.19
October 17, 2005: The selection trials for the Delhi senior
state team for the 60th Santosh Trophy to be played next month
in Kerala would be held from October 19 at the Ambedkar Stadium,
Delhi.

KFA
releases clusters and fixtures
October 15, 2005: The groupings and fixtures of the Cluster
phase of the 60th Santosh Trophy were released today by the
Kerala FA president KMI Mather. The Cluster-leg would be held
from November 4 to 10 in Thiruvananthapuram and Calicut, while
the final round with the quarterfinal league, semifinals and
final would be held in Kochi from November 11 to 20. In total
32 states and government institutions would be taking part
in this years tournament.
Cluster-I: Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal
Cluster-II: Delhi, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh
Cluster-III: Maharashtra, Orissa, Jammu&Kashmir, Meghalaya
Cluster-IV: Railways, Pondicherry, Assam, Chhattisgarh
Cluster-V: Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Jharkhand
Cluster-VI: Karnataka, Haryana, Chandigarh
Cluster-VII: Goa, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tripura
Cluster-VIII: West Bengal, Mizoram, Nagaland, Andhra Pradesh